The Good Guys Aren't Invincible
by ScruffyLovin
Summary: When Casey Jones gets in trouble way over his head, he ends up going to April O'Neil and the turtles for some much needed help. finished Please Review
1. Chapter I

**Disclaimer: **Don't own any of the TMNT characters. So, uh...GOONGALA! XP

**Summary: **Having problems with a street gang after trying to stop a bank robbery, Casey Jones goes to April for help. She takes him to the turtles lair.

**Note: **My first shot at a TMNT fic! _::crosses fingers:: _Hope ya like.

**The Good Guys Aren't Invincible: I**

Dreaming sweet dreams of wildflowers and sunny days, April was suddenly rudely awakened by a loud, demanding knock on her apartment door. Scrunching her face and finally opening her eyes, she crawled out of bed and pulled on a long fuzzy robe over her nightgown before trudging out of her room and to the front door in the livingroom. "Hang on, I'm coming!" she yelled sleepily over the insistent knocking.

Unlocking the deadbolts on the door, but leaving the chain lock, April opened up as far as she could to see who was at the door. There stood Casey Jones, panting for breath and looking nervously behind him. "Casey?!" she yelled through the small space in the partly opened door. "What do you think you're doing? It's nearly midnight!!"

Casey half-doubled over, putting a hand to the wall as he tried to catch his breath. He looked up, ready to speak, his shabby dark hair falling in his face. "April, lemme in, please. I pissed off a couple o' punks tryin' ta take down a bank an' I need a place ta hideout for the night. I think I'm in way over my head this time. The cops might be lookin' for me."

April sighed angrily. "Casey, don't bring your trouble over to my place. Go home!" With that said, she slammed the door in his face.

"But they know where I live!" he called helplessly from out in the hall with a slightly feigned whine to his voice.

April paused in front of her bedroom door, clutching her robe. A sympathetic look crossed her face and she bit her lower lip, trying to decide whether leaving Casey out there was really the best thing to do or not. He had a tendency to get in over his head, but usually nothing he couldn't help himself out of. Little did she know, that this time was different.

Deciding that he was probably just being overly paranoid, April crawled back into bed and returned to her previous sleeping.

- - - - -

When Casey had trudged back to his dingy little apartment, he had just unlocked the door and stepped inside when a crashing noise alerted him and he turned to his left. It was dark, the only light coming from a single bulb he'd left on, dangling from a string in the corner of the room. Before he could figure out where the crash had come from, something hard struck him in the jaw, sending him to the floor.

"Thought you could get away wit' what you done to us Jones?" A big guy built like a brick wall stood looming over Casey, a policeman's nightstick in his hand.

Casey knew he was in trouble. _Maybe I never shoulda busted up that bank robbery. _He thought, before quickly scrambling to his feet and reaching for the baseball bat he kept in the corner. He rushed at the thug, swinging, only to be bashed in the side and knocked to the floor again.

Another thug stepped out from the shadows, grinning. He was a spanish-looking guy, well built, but not quite as big as the first guy. And he was smugly holding a lead pipe in both meathooks he called hands. "Too bad for you we didn't get the money, _amigo_. But the cops don' know we was the robbers." he looked over to the first guy and grinned. "Tell 'im Andre."

The first guy slapped the nightstick in his palm.

Casey looked sideways at his baseball bat that he dropped when he was hit. It was just out of his reach. His ribs hurt from being hit with that pipe, but he tried not to show he was in pain. His side was mostly numb anyway, but he knew he'd really feel that later.

"Yeh, so as Ricki was sayin'," the guy called Andre smirked evilly. "The cops think we was jus' innocent bystanders who witnessed the whole thing. An' we was tellin' 'em we saw who tried ta rob the bank.....an' we told 'em it was you." he laughed wickedly at Casey's shocked and angered expression.

The other guy, Ricki, then snapped his fingers. Three more thugs came into view.

Casey's face twisted angrily, and he made a last ditch effort to leap for his fallen baseball bat, only to get smashed in the leg by one of the new thugs with a crowbar. "Aghh!" he yelled in pain, then struggled to fight back as two of the guys restrained his arms. Casey was strong, but no way could he take on these five big guys while being held back. And unarmed to boot! He knew this wouldn't end well.

The thugs punched, kicked, and beat Casey until they were bored, then the guys holding his arms finally let go and he dropped to his knees on the dirty, bloodied floor. Ricki then picked him up by his shirt and tossed him through the window of the two-story building, only to land on a car below with a loud crash.

Left for dead, Casey managed to roll off the crushed hood of the car and drag himself away while the thugs finished off their fun by burning down his apartment.

- - - - -

It was about two hours later, around two a.m., when April awoke from a light knocking on the door. She had been sleeping very lightly that time, and although she already had a hunch who was knocking at her door at two in the morning, she found it odd how it was much fainter sounding then the last time. Climbing out of bed and throwing on her robe again, April stomped off to the front door, even as the knocking stopped. "Casey Jones, I told you-!" she stopped as she flung the door open this time, finding a bruised and bloodied man crumbled on her door mat. "Ohmygod," she gasped, her mouth hanging open in shock.

It was Casey, though he barely looked himself.

"A-April.." he choked out, struggling to catch his breath.

"Casey!" she knelt quickly beside him, grimacing at his bruised and battered face. "I'm so sorry I didn't believe you! I didn't think you were in that much trouble! I'm so sorry, I - God, I need to get you to a hospital!!" April rattled off so quickly that Casey thought his brain would explode from the fast intake.

"..No." he gasped, slightly shaking his head and clenching his eyes shut. He reached out feebly with a shaky, bloody hand to lightly grasp April's. "Cops...after..me." Casey managed to get out as he tried dragging himself from the floor. It had taken most of his remaining strength just to get to April's apartment.

April's eyes went wide. She wanted to know why the cops were after him, but knew that now wasn't the time to ask. He was in no condition to be getting into conversation, he was barely conscious. "Come on now Casey, just stay with me alright? Don't go to sleep. You can't sleep okay? You might not wake up!" she was panicking now. April knew she needed to get Casey help, but if she couldn't take him to the hospital, then - Aha! The turtles! She could take him there! But...how would she get him there?

"_Unnh._" Casey groaned and started to fall on his side again.

"No!" April screeched at him, lightly tapping the uninjured side of his cheek. "Stay awake!" she said firmly, then stood and reached under his arms to try and pull him to his feet. "_Come on_, help me out here Casey. You're heavy!" she strained, practically dragging him into the apartment so she could shut the door.

He was trying to move his legs and help her out, but one leg was injured and hurt to move.

April suddenly remembered that there was a wheelchair in her hallway closet that her grandmother had used when she broke her hip a few years ago. Leaving Casey leaned up against the couch on the floor, April ran to get the chair.

When she came back, Casey had surprisingly gotten himself on the couch and was leaning heavily against the armrest. April wheeled the chair close to him and lightly touched his arm to gain his attention. "Here, help me get you in the chair, then I'll take you to see the turtles. I'll use the shell-cell they let me borrow to contact them and let them know we're coming. Donnie's a pretty good medic, he'll be able to help you." she told him softly, then prepared to help him to the wheelchair.

- - - - -

April wheeled Casey toward the manhole where the turtles were waiting to help get him down. She climbed down the latter, then got into the strange water-craft Donatello had put together a while ago to travel along the tunnels.

Mikey gaped at Casey as they set him carefully inside the craft and Donatello began driving them back to the lair. "Oh man, he doesn't even _look _like Casey," he esclaimed.

"Can it Mikey," Raphael scolded when he noticed the teary-eyed look on April's face.

"What happened to him?" Leonardo asked from up front.

"Yeh," Michelangelo went along, "He looks like he was run over by a freight train." he frowned, showing concern.

"He..." April began, faltering a little. "He came to my apartment around midnight, saying he botched an attempted robbery at the bank and now some thugs were after him or something." she paused, closing her eyes tight a brief moment so she wouldn't cry. "Then...he - he came back just a little while ago....looking like this." she gestured toward Casey, a frown of guilt and sympathy crossing her face. "Now the police are after him and I don't even know why. H-He asked for my help....and I told him to go home." Her lower lip began to quiver and she could no longer stop the hot tears as they trailed slowly down her pale cheeks.

"It'll be okay April," Donatello tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We'll take care of him."

"Yeh," Raph snarled, pounding a fisted hand into his palm. "An' I'll hunt down those punks that did this to him."

"No, Raph." Leo scolded firmly. "We can't do anything more tonight. There'll be cops all over the place. Besides...Casey is our main concern right now."

Raphael sighed. "Alright, I won't go lookin' for those thugs.....for now."

- - - - -

"How is our friend Casey doing?" Splinter asked quietly as he slowly approached the lab, Raphael standing outside the door as if on guard, and Donatello slowly exiting the room.

"It's pretty bad." Donnie frowned, glancing back into the room sadly. "He has three broken ribs on his left side, several cuts, gashes, and bruises on his face, arms, chest, and back, a concussion, and his right leg's pretty banged up. I'm not sure, but he might also have a slipped disc in his lower back."

"Damn." Raphael muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

Splinter nodded at Donatello's assessment of Casey's injuries. "The healing process will be a long and painful one, but I feel that he will fair well in the end. Some herbal medicine may do him good." he then slowly walked off to put together a concoction to help ease Casey's pain.

"Where's April?" Raph asked curiously. He would have had an eyebrow raised if he had any.

"She's sleeping on the couch." Donatello answered quietly. "Leo helped me convince her to get some rest. It's late. He and Mikey went to bed, you should too."

"Yeh, you should talk." Raphael smirked a little, then sighed. "A'right I'm goin'. I just wanted ta make sure you got some rest too."

Donatello put a hand on his brother's shoulder, knowing Raphael was trying to hide his true intentions. "He's your friend Raph, it's alright to show concern."

"Yeh," Raphael just nodded, then turned to go to his room. "I jus' never seen Case so bad off after a fight..." he said quietly as he left.

"It's going to be a long night..." Donnie mused to himself once his brother had gone. "What's left of it." he glanced at the clock inside the lab. It was nearly four in the morning now. With a tired yawn, he wandered off to rest for awhile before getting up to check on Casey again.

- - - - -


	2. Chapter II

**Note: **Thanks for the reviews guys. I appreciate it. And there really _aren't _enough Casey-centric TMNT fics out there, with April too. Oh, and **AbsoluteOmega**; surprisingly enough, I _do _know how to spell _ladder_. Heh. My brain wasn't functioning quite properly and sometimes while spelling I confuse _latter _(as in, the former not the _latter_) with _ladder _(the one that you climb). Whoops. x-0; My bad. _::smashes head into nearby wall:: _I blame my muse. XP Ha!

**The Good Guys Aren't Invincible: II**

Morning came late for everyone except Master Splinter, who was always an early riser. He had put together a special blend of herbs and natural ingredients for Donatello to give to Casey to drink once he was able. The wise old rat had said it would help with his pain and also heal his soul, which was necessary for a full recovery. Donnie had set the foul-smelling drink aside for when Casey woke.

April had tiredly wandered to the lab where she now stood beside the small bed that Casey laid on. His torn shirt had been taken off, replaced by many bandages, and the right pant leg had been cut off his track pants above the knee, so that the leg could also be properly bandaged. Frowning sadly, April had to fight off the tears that wanted to trail down her cheeks again. _It's my fault he's like this, _she thought, _If only I'd let him in my apartment, he'd be alright._

She was soon brought out of her reverie when Donatello came in the lab holding a needle with some yellowish fluid in it. "What's that?" she asked curiously as the turtle brought it over to Casey and injected it into his arm.

"Well, to put it simply; medicine to help ease his symptoms." the turtle answered with a caring smile.

"Oh," April looked on with concern as Casey twitched in pain for a moment before going still. Alarmed, she turned to Donatello with wide eyes. "Donnie! Is he-"

"It's okay, April." he assured her, reaching toward Casey's neck and checking his pulse with a nod. "That was just the medicine kicking in. He'll rest easier now."

"Good morning guys," Leonardo greeted warmly, popping his head into the lab with Michelangelo close behind, yawning.

"I just wanted to stop by and see how Casey was doing." Mikey said with a sympathetic smile when April and Donatello looked at him.

April nodded, trying to return his smile but failing miserably.

"Anyone up for breakfast?" Leo asked the three. "We've got left-over pizza, and-"

"Left-over pizza! My fave!" Mikey interupted with a big grin. "I loooove having pizza for breakfast!" his enthusiasm got a small smile out of April.

"Yuck," she said afterwards, crinkling her nose and looking at Donatello and Leonardo once Mikey bolted out of the room to get his food. "You guys eat left-over pizza for _breakfast_?"

"Yeh, you should try it sometime." Donnie grinned.

April made a disgusted face. "Got anything else?" she asked hopefully.

"Sugar-coated Sugar Crisp cereal." Leo offered with a shrug as April shook her head. "Blame Mikey, he picked it out. We usually just get Lucky Charms."

"Eh, maybe I'll just skip breakfast." April sighed and slowly wandered out of the lab with one last glance toward Casey.

"Don't you have work to do at the antique shop?" Donnie asked as they headed toward the kitchen area.

"No," April shook her head. "I've declared it closed for the day." she looked down at herself, realizing she was in her nightgown and robe. She didn't have anything to wear in the lair, and she could really use a shower to help de-stress-itize. "Maybe I'll go home, get cleaned up, and bring some extra clothes before coming back here. If you guys don't mind, I think I'd like to stay another night."

"That's a good idea." Donatello patted her shoulder and went to get a slice of pizza before Mikey ate it all.

"Yeh," Raphael came up from behind April, overhearing what she'd said. He gave her a nod and crooked smile. "We'll look after Case while you're gone, don't worry." he said gruffly. "I'll give ya a ride outta here."

"Thanks." April managed a small, appreciative smile. "I won't be long." she was too worried about Casey to be so far away for long anyway. And although she would never admit it to anyone, she was starting to think she really did care deeply about him.

- - - - -

In the early afternoon when Leonardo had just brought April back into the lair, they all were aware of the painful howls and screams coming from the lab. April put her things down and ran toward the lab, following a frantic Donatello. "Donnie! What's going on?!" she asked worriedly over the yelling.

Raphael and Michelangelo were already in the lab, standing around a thrashing and screaming Casey.

"Guys, hold him down before he hurts himself!" Donnie yelled to his brothers as he dug through the lab's cabinets and produced a syringe.

Raph and Mikey quickly went to work, trying to keep Casey from flailing about without hurting him.

"What's the matter with 'im?!" Raphael exclaimed, flinching slightly as a swinging hand smacked into the side of his head.

April just stared in shock while Donatello managed to administer whatever was in the needle he had.

"He's starting to wake up and he's in serious pain!" Donnie exclaimed over the yelling as Casey continued to howl and scream with his eyes clenched shut. He backed off once the drugs were injected into his patient's arm. "That sedative I gave him should knock him back out. It's the best we can do until we can figure out how to make some stronger pain medication for him."

The pain-wreaked screaming soon died down and Raph and Mikey backed up, breathing a little heavier from their efforts.

That worried look crossed April's face and she apprehensively backed out of the lab. It hurt her to see Casey like that, especially since she felt responcible for what happened to him.

"Maybe we could go to a hospital and get him medicine?" Mikey suggested, looking for Donatello's approval.

"Yeh right, Mikey." Raphael snorted and shook his head. "What do ya think they're gonna do if some giant green turtles pop in there and ask for pills?"

"No," Donnie interjected. "Mikey's right." he paused and looked from Raphael to Mikey, to April, who was still backing out of the lab. "_We _can't go in there, but April can."

She stopped and frowned, shaking her head. As much as she wanted to help, she didn't think this was plausible. "Donnie, you can't just go in a hospital and ask for morphine. They're not going to give it to me."

"So we steal it." Raphael said frankly.

Donatello lowered his head. "I hate to admit it, it's not our way....but I think we have to. I mean, it's all we can do to help Casey."

April sighed, dropping her arms by her sides. "Well...morphine's expensive...If I can manage to get away with it, I'll leave what money I have in my purse in it's place."

Mikey smiled a little. "It's a plan then."

Donatello guestured toward Raphael. "You better go with her. Just in case trouble starts."

Raph nodded with a partial grin. He was itching to pound in some heads, though he seriously doubted there'd be any fighting.

"And put on some heavy clothes so no one sees what you really are!" Donnie warned as Raphael left with April.

- - - - -

**Note: **This chapter was kinda short, I know. Sorry 'bout that. But please review!!!


	3. Chapter III

**Note: **Thanks for the reviews!!! _::grins:: _Sorry that this chapter is pretty short too, but I think the next one'll be longer. Don't kill me. x-0; heh.

**The Good Guys Aren't Invincible: III**

Raphael waited impatiently for April just outside the doors of the E.R. after she insisted she didn't need his help inside. That suited him just fine, Raph felt uncomfortable around all those humans, he didn't need them finding out what he was if they pissed him off and he lost it. "C'mon April, hurry it up." he growled under his breath as he began tapping his foot.

Suddenly, April wandered out of the E.R. doors wearing a pair of hospital scrubs under her coat. "I got it!" she whispered sharply to Raph as he looked her way. "Now let's go!"

Raphael smirked a little, gesturing towards the 'borrowed' uniform. "Nice threads."

April rolled her eyes. "I had to snatch these to get into the storage closet." she explained quickly. "Now can we just get out of here?!"

"Okay, okay. _Sheesh_." Raphael headed towards his motorcycle, April mounting the bike behind him. He revved up the bike once April put on the extra helmet, then sped off away from the hospital.

- - - - -

Groaning lowly and barely audible, Casey's left eye began to flutter open while his right eye was swolen shut. April, who was sitting beside the bed watching over him, suddenly stood up and waited for his eye to fully open. "Casey?" she called to him quietly. "Casey, it's April. Can you hear me?"

A soft moan escaped his lips before his left eye opened up all the way and he began to focus on the redhead hovering over him.

April managed a sympathetic smile, though it was a little forced. _He looks in so much pain. _She thought to herself, smile faltering briefly.

Taking in a painful breath, Casey tried to speak. "Ah - Ap....ril....._Hurrhh..tuh_...I..." He closed his good eye tightly as if mentally cursing himself for not being able to speak clearly and in a correct sentence. His brain must have gotten a little more scrambled with that fall then he thought.

April frowned, her brows furrowing in concern as she tried to understand what he was trying to tell her. "Hurts too much to talk?" she asked him softly, then said. "Blink once for yes, twice for no."

_Hurts to breathe. _He thought. Casey slowly managed to blink once.

"Okay." April nodded to let him know she understood him. "I'll go get Donnie to give you some more morphine." she smiled faintly before hurrying to get the turtle.

As Donatello followed April back into the lab, he inserted another few miligrams of morphine into Casey's arm before bringing over the conconction of foul-smelling liquid that Splinter put together. "Try and get this down Case." he said gently. "It smells foul and probably tastes even worse, but it's garunteed to make you feel better."

Staring at the putrid smelling cup that Donatello was holding close to his face, Casey groaned, only able to think of what he really wanted to say because it hurt too much to do otherwise. _Aw man, get that junk away from me Don. There's no way I'm gonna force down **that**! C'mon April, don't let 'im do it!_

"We have to get him to sit up or he'll choke." April told Donatello just as he was about to pour the liquid in Casey's mouth.

_Way ta help me out April. _Casey thought with a bitter groan.

Donnie reached behind Casey's shoulders on one side as April went around the bed, doing the same on that side. They very slowly sat him up enough so that he could drink without choking, stuffing more pillows behind him.

Casey clenched his teeth so he didn't howl out in pain. His back was stiff and hurt like hell, probably from smashing onto that car roof from two stories up. It hurt to sit up like he was, but it's not like he could do anything about it. It didn't help much with his broken ribs either, and just made it harder to breathe. Casey looked to April with pleading eyes when she turned to him, then weakly brought up his right hand and brought it to his throat, motioning that he couldn't really breathe. _"Nnh.." _he moaned, gritting his teeth and slightly arcing his neck up.

April's glassy eyes looked to him with concern. "Hard to breathe, sitting up?" she asked, glancing once at Donatello who had no clue as to what Casey was gesturing about.

He blinked once, confirming that was a _yes_.

"Okay," April nodded, quickly taking the stinky concoction from Donnie and bringing it toward Casey's mouth. "Just swallow all of this and we can lay you back down."

Casey groaned, but slowly opened his mouth and prepared to quickly swallow as April carefully tilted the cup. If it meant he'd be able to breathe easier again, he'd drink it. _Yick! This stuff tastes worse'n sewer water! _He thought, struggling to keep it down.

Once all the nasty drink was gone, April and Donatello carefully laid Casey back down.

April smiled up at Donnie. "Hey, why don't you go get some rest. I'll take care of him tonight, you could use the sleep."

Hesitating at first, Donatello then nodded, knowing that looking after Casey would just make April feel better. He was also really longing to have a good night's sleep in his own bed. "Goodnight April, just let me know if you need anything."

Watching him leave, April turned back to look at Casey, lying there soundlessly for a moment. She sighed softly, then got up to get a cool wash cloth to dab at his bruised face. The least she could do was maybe help him feel a little better, though she doubted he'd get a good night's sleep.

Casey gazed up at April's face with his one good eye as she tended to him. Her glassy green eyes shimered from the little bit of light that remained on above the bed. _Man, April looks real worried. Did I get hurt that bad? _He wondered to himself as he felt the cooling sensation from the cloth, dabbing at the sore skin on his face. _Jeeze, I didn't think she cared. Hmph. Not that I care if she cares....well, ah, who'm I kiddin'? There's no one else in my head that can know what I'm thinkin'. _He mentally shrugged, then tried to focus back on April's face, even as his vision blurred with sleepiness.

When she noticed that her patient was dozing off, April gave a congenial smile and slowly pulled the cold cloth away. She quietly brought the cloth back to the sink and tossed it in as Casey fell asleep. Leaving the lab door open and heading out toward the couch, April flopped down with a tired sigh and prepared to catch a few _Z's _before checking up on Casey again.

- - - - -

Raphael's loud snoring from his bedroom had soon woken April, and with an exaggerated yawn, she got up off the couch and crept back toward the lab.

Casey laid awake, blinking up at the ceiling and the dim light above the bed. He was sore all over, but didn't want to wake anybody to let them know. He knew it was late, though he couldn't see the clock, and he felt bad that people were losing sleep worrying about him. _They don't needta worry 'bout me, _he thought, _As soon as I can get up, I'll be taking care o' myself. _Casey's good eye drifted off to the side when he heard someone walking toward the lab. It was April. Atleast now he didn't have to worry about waking anyone. He just wondered if she'd be able to give him something.

"You're awake," April whispered as she wandered over beside the bed. She watched his eye trail up to her face and she gently reached down and moved a stray hair from his forehead with a light smile. Figuring he was in pain, otherwise he wouldn't be awake, April asked, "Need some more medication?"

Casey eagerly blinked once, his eyes lingering closed for a moment.

"Okay, hold on." April went over to the cabinet where Donatello kept the syringes and the morphine. She knew exactly how much to give him from the note that Donnie smartly left on the inside door of the cabinet.

After filling the syringe with the correct dosage, April carefully injected it into the I.V. that Don had set up earlier. "There you go." she smiled as Casey closed his eye, feeling the medicine kicking in.

He made a soft, grateful groaning noise, then began drifting back off to sleep.

With a relieved sigh, April left the lab to return to sleeping on the couch. Unfortunately Raph's snoring would make it rather difficult to fall back asleep, but she put her head between two over-stuffed pillows and managed the task.

- - - - -


	4. Chapter IV

**The Good Guys Aren't Invincible: IV**

_Five Days Later..._

After more time resting then he could stand, Casey was finally out of bed. With a crutch under his left arm to support his right leg, and his right arm wrapped around his ribcage, he began hobbling out of the lab, despite Donatello's insistance that he stay in bed. There was still a dark bruise around his right eye, but it was no longer swolen shut. The cuts on his face had begun to scar, but some other bruises remained. Casey's back was pretty much the worst of his injuries, besides his broken ribs, and was mostly a giant bruise. He had continued to explain to Donatello that being on his back for more than five days in bed wasn't helping, but the turtle had informed him he'd been planning that Casey heal his other injuries before doing anything about it. True to his stubborness, Casey just kept on hobbling down the hall to where the main living area was.

April had been staying at the turtle's lair off and on to help play nursemaid to Casey, and had just returned from a groceries run with Michelangelo while the rest of the guys were out, to find him hobbling painfully toward the couch. "Casey!" she exclaimed, slamming the bags of groceries down on the counter and rushing toward him. "What on Earth are you doing up? I could've sworn that Donatello forbid you to get out of bed.

"Yeh," Casey grunted, gritting his teeth and grimacing slightly in pain. "He did. But I ain't listenin'." He didn't have the good sense to hide his smirk as April glared at him with a motherly look of dissappointment.

"Haha," Mikey laughed a little. "Donnie's gonna have kittens! Way ta show him Case." he smiled broadly.

April soon turned her glare on the turtle. "Don't encourage him Mikey." she frowned, then helped Casey ease himself down on the couch before leaning his crutch against it.

"Ooh, that smarts." Casey muttered under his breath with a wince as he leaned his back against the couch, still clutching at his left side with his right arm. His ribs were bandaged tightly to help alleviate the pain, and there was a bandage on his right leg around the knee and shin areas. Thankfully, Casey had told April where she could get him a few changes of clothes so he wasn't stuck in the same nasty, dirty ones all that time. He remembered those thugs that beat him up had burned his apartment down, and most everything he owned had been destroyed. He had luckily always kept a duffle bag full of clothes and a few other necessities beside a dumpster near his building.

"Casey, careful..." April warned gingerly, then glanced over at Michelangelo who was just standing there. "Mikey, go get me a few miligrams of morphine from the lab cabinet."

"No," Casey said firmly, reaching out a hand to stop the turtle. He looked at April, his brows set in a line. "I don't need it."

April sighed at his stubborness. Ever since he'd been off the I.V. and able to sit up on his own and speak clearly again, he'd refused any kind of medication they tried to give him, though Donnie or April would occasionally slip him some meds in his food, or by a syringe when he was too tired to protest or put up a fight. "You're hurting Casey, you need _something_."

He just frowned, his mouth set in a determined grim line. "You want me to get _addicted_ to the stuff or somethin'? That's stuff's _addictive_ ya know. People become _addicts _because of stuff like that. You want me to become an _addict_ April?" Casey had a serious look on his face, but he was kidding around. And he had to keep empasizing on the words _addict, _and _addictive, _like he was trying to drill it into her brain that he didn't want the morphine. Like she didn't get the hint.

She just rolled her eyes. It was funny how he could amuse and annoy her at the same time. Casey was a goofball, that was true. A crazy, hotheaded, goofball, but for some reason....she really liked him. Getting serious again, April stared hard at him. "You can quit the tough-guy stuff Casey, I'm serious. You really need to take something or you're just going to feel worse."

Stubborn as usual, Casey kept that determined look on his face.

"Fine!" April threw her arms up in the air and stormed off toward the kitchen to put the groceries away. "But don't come complaining to me if you can't get back up again because it hurts too much to move!" she knew it was harsh, and regreted saying it a little bit after the words were out, but began putting the groceries away and didn't look back at him anyway.

Mikey stood there beside the couch dumbly. "So, uh...I guess I'll just....sit here." he shrugged, then grabbed the remote off the floor and plopped himself down in front of the tv while Casey remained where he was on the couch and stared at it, not uttering another word.

- - - - -

An hour or so went by, and Casey continued to stare stoically at the television set while Mikey watched whatever he was watching. He would have much rather enjoyed watching a hockey game, but Casey kept his mouth shut and sat there, trying to prove to April that he was perfectly fine and in no need of medicating. Deep down he knew what he was doing was immature, stupid, and pointless, but that didn't mean he was going to admit he was wrong. No matter how much pain he was in either. And he was starting to feel it as he sat there, trying not to move and aggrivate his injuries further.

"Hahaha!!" Mikey suddenly burst into a fit of later, tossing more popcorn in his mouth from the fresh bowl he'd filled last commercial. He glanced back at Casey, pointing at the screen. "Did you see that?! Hahaha! Get it? Pizza Apostles!! Hahaha!!"

Maybe, just _maybe _on a normal day Casey would have found it funny, but he wasn't in the mood for a comedy, nor was he in the mood to laugh. It just hurt too damn much.

April was sitting at the kitchen counter reading a book she'd started a few nights ago. It had been something to occupy her time when she'd been looking after Casey, and now she was well into it. She tried to forget about her little argument with him, but she was being just as stubborn about it and hadn't spoken to him since.

Master Splinter soon entered the main part of the lair, having had been meditating in the dojo most of the day. He appeared refreshed and in a rather good mood, as much as he showed it. "Good evening April." he nodded toward her as he stopped in the kitchen, then looked around before heading back toward the dojo. It appeared as though he wasn't done with his meditating. Either that, or he could sense the tension in the air and would have just rather stayed away. The latter was a bit more likely.

Soon the lair regained it's noisiness when Raphael, Leonardo, and Donatello returned. Suffice to say, Donnie was not too happy when he discovered Casey was out of the lab.

"Casey!" he exclaimed, marching over to the couch. "I told you to stay in bed!" Donnie put his hands on his hips like an overbearing mother and glared.

Mikey turned to his brother and grinned a little. "I wouldn't go there Donnie!"

"Quiet Mikey," Donatello said without taking his eyes off Casey who refused to even look at him.

Casey's mouth was still set in that grim line, his brows furrowed angrily. "Can it Don. I ain't takin' no meds an' I'm sick o' bein' confined to a bed 24/7." he snarled, still staring at the tv.

"I told you so." Mikey sang with a big goofy grin.

Donnie rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut the shell up." he let out a frustrated sigh, glancing once at Casey before stomping off toward the kitchen. "Fine, fine. I'm only here worrying about your well-being, but I guess that doesn't mean anything to someone so hard-headed!"

"You talkin' about me?" Raphael asked as he walked out of the kitchen with a soda in his hand, watching Donatello storm past him.

Mikey was nearly rolling on the floor with laughter. "Not this time Raph, Donnie-boy was talkin' about Casey." he laughed, shaking his head.

Raphael shrugged, then headed for the couch, plopping himself down opposite Casey. "Hey Case, how ya doin'?" he asked generally.

"Ooh, wrong question to ask." Mikey muttered, wincing as he prepared for Casey's rath.

Before giving his friend the chance to retaliate, Raphael waved his hands toward Casey. "Ah, nevermind that. Forget I asked." he smiled partly, then glanced at the tv a moment before he turned to Mikey. "Hey bro, gimme the remote, I ain't watchin' this crap!"

"No way dude! There's a _Crank Yankers _marathon on Comedy Central in five minutes!"

Raph let out an annoyed sigh, but was too tired from their outing to argue or fight for the remote. Instead, he got up off the couch, waved to Casey, and walked off towards his bedroom to get in an early night's rest.

In the kitchen, April was now sipping at a cup of tea while Leonardo flipped through some comic books, and Donatello had gone off to work on some of his gadgets in the other lab.

"Casey's still being stubborn about taking medication huh?" Leo asked April as he closed up the comic he was reading and set it aside on the counter.

April sighed, resting her elbow on the counter top and putting her head in her hands.

"Eh...I'll take that as a yes." Leonardo smiled lightheartedly. When April looked up again, there were tears going down her cheeks, and Leo frowned. "April, what is it? Is it Casey?"

"Yes," she began, her voice shaking a little with her crying, "and no." Sniffling, April tried to compose herself. She shook her head, lowering her voice so no one could hear her in the livingroom nearby. "I don't know...I just...I feel responcible for what happened to him. I keep thinking; maybe if I let him in my apartment the first time he came by, he'd be alright....maybe those guys would have stopped looking for him...." she sniffled again, then wiped away her tears. That was the first time April had told any of the guys what she felt about that night, and it felt good to get it off her chest.

"April, it wasn't your fault. Don't be kicking yourself over this." Leo patted her arm, gaining a small smile from her.

"Thanks Leo." she let out a slow breath before her brows furrowed and she stuck out her lower lip. "He's so stubborn though! Ugh!" April rolled her eyes, glaring toward the livingroom. "A few days ago when he could barely stay conscious without being in pain, Casey let us give him medication whenever we got the chance. Now....Now he won't let us go anywhere near him with the stuff. Arg, he's so stubborn!" she complained.

Leonardo looked at her thoughtfully a moment. "I think that maybe Casey doesn't want the meds because he doesn't want to have to rely on us so much," he reasoned, "I mean, he never really had to before and I guess it just bothers him. He used to be solely responcible for himself, now since he's met us, it's like he has an instant family. He's not used to that. Having people care for him and having to care for others in return."

"Thanks again Leo." April smiled, then got up and kissed his cheek, causing the turtle to blush. "I'll sneak some pills in his dinner." she took off to get the medicine before Leo got the chance to say anything else.

He sighed, shaking his head. "That's not exactly what I was getting at." With a shrug and a yawn, Leonardo got up and walked off, preparing to get in a brief workout with his katanas before going to bed.

- - - - -

Another two hours had passed, and Casey still sat unmoving on the couch, staring at the tv while almost everyone else had gone to bed. He hadn't bothered to eat the food laced with medicine, much to April's chagrin, claiming that he wasn't hungry. He was still too stubborn to admit maybe April was right, and he wasn't going to get up until she had gone to sleep first. Well, that had been his original plan, until he realized that April's bed was on the couch and he was still sitting there, and wouldn't move. More like _couldn't _move. Casey had been sitting there without budging for so long that he was practically numb all over.

After finishing her book after all that time she was left with to read it, April slammed it down on the counter and got up, walking with determined strides toward the couch. She sat down beside Casey, intent on ending this stupid, pointless feud. "Look Casey, I'm sorry about trying to get you to take the medication when you really don't want it. I just want this to end, it's stupid. We shouldn't be acting like five-year-olds giving eachother the silent treatment all day."

Letting out a long sigh, his expression finally softening a little, Casey turned his head so that he was facing April, though his body barely moved. "No, you were right." he frowned slightly. "I know now, that you jus' been tryin' ta help me."

April smiled. "Okay, then let's get you back to the lab so you can get some sleep." she got up, preparing to help him along.

Casey gave a somewhat sheepish crooked grin. "I...can't." he sighed.

"Casey, if this about pride or something-"

"No," he shook his head slightly. "April, I really can't get up. I been sittin' here too damn long." he frowned with a slight grimace. His entire body felt too stiff and sore to move.

"Oh," April's expression turned to that of a sympathetic frown. "Alright, well...uh...I'll help you. Just...try and move slowly."

Nodding and taking in a deep breath, Casey gingerly used his arms and pushed himself forward slightly on the couch cushions as April helped him and reached for his crutch. "_Unnh.._" Casey groaned and clenched his eyes shut as he was almost standing fully upright, the crutch under his left arm and his right arm clutching at his ribs. "Maybe...I _could _use a little..o' that morphine...now." he grunted with a wince.

April's brows furrowed in concern as she helped him hobble along with an arm around his waist at his right side. "Okay, just take it easy now," she instructed quietly.

"I'm...sorry 'bout bein'...such a hardhead." Casey said through gritted teeth as they reached the lab and he sat down carefully on the bed.

"It's okay, I understand." April told him quietly with a gentle smile as she went to the cabinet for the medicine, thankful that he was now willing to take it.

Slowly pulling his legs up on the bed, Casey carefully laid back, grimacing as he finally rested against the soft pillows. He didn't want to lay down, when laying down meant that it would just cause his back more pain, and he couldn't lay down on his stomach because of his ribs.

As April gently injected the medicine into Casey's arm, he seemed not to notice, his eyes closed trying to block out the pain and wait for everything to feel better. She smiled sympathetically and turned to leave, stopping suddenly at the door when she remembered something. "Hey, you didn't eat. Do you want something?"

It took Casey a minute to respond. "Nah, I'm good." he finally answered quietly, eyes still closed as he heard April leaving the lab. He soon began to drift off into blissful nothingness, only hoping the medicine would be enough to keep him asleep the entire night without waking up in pain.

- - - - -


	5. Chapter V

**Note: **Yayness! Reviews! Hehe, thanks guys! **AbsoluteOmega**; I know exactly what you mean, I was all giddy with excitement when April an' Casey finally kissed too! BOO-YAH! _::grins like an idiot:: _But I'm still mad they weren't shown the rest of the entire episode. Grr... And damn my stupid spelling mistakes!!! x-0 _::curses:: _Oh well. I'm far from perfect and I'm bound to make mistakes...._even though I re-read the chapter atleast 3 times.... ::bashes head into computer screen:: _Heh. x-0; Don't worry, I'm perfectly insa - I mean, er...sane. _::shifty smile:: _

**The Good Guys Aren't Invincible: V**

As the night droned on, the morphine wore off and Casey was awake again. His right leg ached with a dull throbbing, but no matter how much he tried to shift to a more comfortable position, it didn't help. He sat up carefully with a soft groan, right arm automatically wrapping around his ribcage. Deciding that his leg might feel better if he moved around a little, Casey slid off the bed and gingerly set his bare feet on the floor as he reached for the crutch nearby.

Hobbling had become the only mode of transportation for him lately, and as Casey tried to quietly make his way into the living area it became very apparent that his also aching back was preventing him from standing completely upright. Noticing April laying on the sofa fast asleep, Casey clumsily made his way toward her and stopped a moment to hover over her. He smiled a little crookedly as he stared at her. _April's a pretty good-lookin' babe. She's a good person too. Real good if she can even deal with me. Heh, she'd probably hate that I called her 'babe' though. _Tilting his head to the side a little, Casey hobbled over to the chair near the couch and eased himself down. He stretched out his sore right leg as much as he could and rubbed it with his hands, trying to massage the aching muscles. He grimaced slightly, then leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, eventually nodding off to sleep.

- - - - -

It was early in the morning, and as April slowly opened her eyes with a yawn, she realized she was not alone in the room. Sitting up and peering to the side, she spotted Casey fast asleep on the chair near the sofa and breathing heavily in steady, sleeping breaths. She had to smile a little, but then got up curiously and stood over him. The bruises on his face had faded considerably, and she had to say he looked alot healthier than he had the past few days. "Casey?" she finally called to wake him.

"Hrm?" he opened one eye partly, then blinked a few times. "April?" he blinked a few more times before shifting slightly in the chair and groaning from the sore aches in his muscles.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked with a half-smile and a raised eyebrow.

Casey had to look around before realizing where he was. _It's morning? Oh. You bonehead, ya fell asleep. _He scratched the back of his head and managed to sit up a little more. "I couldn't sleep last night, so I got up an' walked around a little ta stretch." he smiled crookedly. "Guess I musta stopped an' fell asleep on the chair."

April smiled back at him gently. "It's okay."

Suddenly there was a loud noise as someone entered that part of the lair. It was Raphael, looking as though he'd been out since very, very early. Casey and April both turned to look at him strangely.

"I did some digging," he said, getting straight to the point as usual while walking over to the pair. "I hunted down a bunch o' thugs, tryin' ta find who the ones were that worked Casey over. Heard a couple o' punks braggin' about it, an' it turns out that they're with the Purple Dragons."

April listened to Raphael intently while Casey huffed and rolled his eyes. It bit at his nerves that these guys got the better of him, and he wanted nothing more than to go with Raph and beat the ever-lovin' hell out of them, but he still needed a little more healing time before he'd be back to his old butt-kickin' self again.

Raph continued. "Seems they were pretty damn pissed that Case here screwed up their robbery an' they didn't get any cash outta the deal. Now they're even madder 'cuz they know ya ain't dead or in jail." he looked to Casey, arms crossed over his chest. "They're still itchin' ta get you six feet under pal."

"They can try." Casey muttered, gritting his teeth and grabbing his crutch as he got up and hobbled toward the kitchen.

April and Raphael both watched him leave, hanging their heads and sighing.

"He's going to leave, isn't he?" April asked quietly, looking to the turtle with a slight frown as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"If I know Casey...probably." Raphael sighed, slightly shaking his head. "He won't want those jerks lookin' for him here, an' I'm sure he wants a little revenge for what they did. But goin' to the Purple Dragons an' dealin' with that? It ain't a good idea. You go after a couple o' those guys, before ya know it, you got the rest of 'em comin' after you."

April frowned and hurried toward the kitchen after Casey to try and talk some sense into him.

Raphael knew that Casey would probably take off to deal with whatever it was he had to deal with. But when Casey left, Raph would be there to watch his back for sure.

- - - - -

Another week had gone by, and although Casey hadn't left the safety of the turtle's lair yet, those closest to him, such as April and Raphael, knew it was going to happen soon. He was moving around much better than before, with his leg almost back to normal and most of the kinks worked out of his back. Despite his still-broken ribs, they didn't bother him nearly as much as they had, and he'd even done some training whenever Donatello or April weren't around to stop him. Casey wanted to be in better shape and regain most of the strength he'd lost from being bedridden for so long. He needed to be capable of handling himself in a fight if he was prepared to leave.

"Ready ta start bustin' heads again Case?" Raphael asked with a partial smirk as he strolled in to the gym area to find his friend pounding into a punching bag.

Turning slowly with sweat dripping from his brow, Casey's dark, determined stare turned calm, having unfocused from his anger that was directed at the swaying punching bag. "Yeh Raph, just about."

With a sigh, Raphael walked closer to him and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Look Case, I got a feelin' you're plannin' on headin' out tonight. Am I right?"

Casey dropped his arms by his sides. "So what if I am?"

"Look," Raph sighed again, "I _know_ you are, but I ain't gonna tell April or the others."

Raising an eyebrow at the much shorter turtle, Casey brought up an arm and swiped the sweat from his forehead. "What's the catch Raph?"

"I go with you." he crossed his arms over his chest and stared hard at his fellow hot-head. "You might not like it, but I'm comin' anyway, whether ya do or not. You could use someone ta watch your back, especially since you're not a hundred percent."

Casey half-smiled and gave Raphael a friendly slap on the back. "Okay, you got it Raph. We go take down some Purple Dragons t'night." he tilted his head and peered past the turtle to make sure no one was around. "Meet me just outside the lair at midnight."

Nodding with a partial smirk, Raphael turned and left the gym.

- - - - -

About half an hour before midnight, Casey snuck out of the lair with his bag of choice weapons; two baseball bats, a hockey stick, and a golf club. He purposefully told Raphael to meet him at the wrong time to give himself a head start. He really didn't want to trouble his friends anymore, this was his problem and he was going to deal with it in his own way, by himself.

Having not told anyone why the cops were after him, Casey planned on clearing his name by getting the Purple Dragon punks that robbed the bank to confess. Either that, or he'd pound a confession out of them and drag them to the police station to deal with New York's finest. That was what he hoped atleast. He also hoped not to catch them in a group, it would be easier to deal with them singled out.

- - - - -

Getting up and grabbing his sais, Raphael went to go meet Casey as planned. When his pal didn't show, Raph knew exactly what had happened. "Casey you _bonehead_." the turtle muttered under his breath as he climbed out of the manhole and set foot on the street. He shook his head angrily. _What the hell were you thinkin' pal? You can't take on those goons by yourself. _Taking off in a direction Raphael figured Casey might have gone, he climbed up the fire escape of a nearby building and made his way through the dark, stealthily going over roof-tops at an amazing speed.

The sound of shouting in the otherwise pretty quiet night had alerted Raphael, and he switched directions, quickly going off toward the roof-tops on his left. As he hurried over buildings, getting from one roof to another by any means necessary, Raphael suddenly found where this battle was taking place, where all the yelling and noises were coming from. He peered down between two buildings in an alley-way, then jumped onto the platform of a fire escape. He saw a couple goons from the Purple Dragons laying unconscious on the pavement, then their ring-leader (or the ring-leader when Hun's not around), Dragon Face. He and one other huge guy were advancing upon a fallen figure. Casey.

_Fifteen Minutes Earlier..._

"Alright you goons, this'll teach you ta frame me for that robbery!!" Casey jumped down from atop the dumpster and advanced upon the surprised punks. He only recognized one of them from his apartment when he was beat up, but it didn't really matter.

"Oh, not this idiot." the goon that was involved in the previous beating scoffed with a sigh. He glanced at the other guys with a cocky smirk on his face, jerking his head to the side. "C'mon fellas, let's show this guy what it means ta mess with the Purple Dragons."

Quickly flinging both arms to the weapons in the bag strapped to his back, Casey pulled out his hockey stick, then jumped at the thugs swinging.

Within minutes, Casey had taken down all of the weak goons, leaving the brick wall of a guy that he had met up with before. His name was Andre if he remembered clearly. Having been slightly out of breath and worn down from the fighting, Casey knew he wouldn't be able to hold up much longer. It would have been smarter to heal up completely before even _thinking _about taking down some of the Dragons, but that's what usually got Casey into trouble. He fought first and delt with the consequences later.

Pulling his white, skull-faced hockey mask down over his face again, Casey took in a deep breath and leapt at the last goon standing.

Andre used his massive arms to block most of the attacks, but the hockey-stick toting vigilante didn't let up, and got in a good jab to his gut. Doubling over a moment, he was just catching his breath when someone pushed him aside, dealing a strong kick to his enemie's chest.

Casey was flung backwards into a pile of empty cardboard boxes where he crumbled to the ground. He noticed the thug that had pushed Andre aside, it was Dragon Face.

"This is the _hero _I toldja 'bout that screwed up our bank robbery." Andre told his leader as he continued to catch his breath. "The one me an' some of the boys framed for it." he snickered a little.

"Hmph." Dragon Face grunted and stroked his greenish-blue goatee a moment in thought. Then he turned a glare at Casey. "You caused a lot o' problems for us Jones. We lost a good amount of money 'cuz o' that." His expression turned to pure hatred and he reached behind him as Andre slapped a big pipe into his palm. "Now you gotta pay. You shoulda died the first time." Dragon Face arched his arm back, grinning wickedly as he brought forth the deadly blow.

- - - - -

**Note: **Cliff-hanger!! Wahahaha!! _::laughs evilly and runs away::_


	6. Chapter VI

**Note: **Yayness for April and Casey moments in the episode this mornin'! _::grins stupidly:: _I taped it. Hehe. Ahem...oh yeh, sorry this chapter's kinda short. And this is the last one too!!!! x-0 That's so sad. Hope you guys like anyways!

**The Good Guys Aren't Invincible: VI**

_Present Time..._

Raphael's mouth gaped open as he watched Dragon Face preparing to strike Casey with the lead pipe. "AAARRRGHH!" he shouted to distract the two goons as he leapt down from the fire escape platform, delivering a side kick to knock Dragon Face away from Casey, causing him to smash the pipe down into the pavement instead.

A bewildered Andre was left standing there dumbly, staring at this strange green creature with his arms dropped by his sides.

Taking the moment to his advantage, Raphael unleashed his sais, twirling them in his hands and thrusting the handle of one into the goon's forehead, effectively knocking him unconscious. He grinned momentarily at the easy victory, then, sensing Dragon Face from behind, he flipped backward and smacked the butt of his other sai into the back of the thug's head, also knocking him unconscious.

The pained groan from the pile of cardboard boxes reminded the turtle why he was there, and he rushed beside his fallen friend. "Casey! Hey, you alright?"

Casey groaned again, clutching his ribcage as he started to sit up. "How'd..I do?" he mumbled softly.

Raphael smiled a little, helping him to his feet. "Ya did good Case, ya did good. But you're a bonehead." he smirked briefly, then glanced around at all the fallen members of the Purple Dragon and started helping Casey walk away as quickly as possible. "C'mon, we better get you outta here."

- - - - -

Upon their return to the lair, Raphael and Casey both discovered that they weren't the only ones awake. It wasn't quite 1 a.m. yet, and a worried-looking April was waiting, along with Master Splinter who always had a calm demeanor, though he stared at Raphael and Casey both with fatherly concern as they came forth.

"Casey!" April called out, running toward him and unburdening Raphael by taking on Casey's weight and allowing him to lean on her. "What were you two thinking?!" she nearly screeched, leading Casey toward the lab with Raphael and Splinter following.

Raphael figured it might be wiser if he explained what had happened, rather then Casey. "Well," he began, gaining Splinter's full focus and clearing his throat almost nervously. "Case was gonna take off ta deal with the Dragons with or without my help, so I decided he'd be better off if I gave 'im a hand." he sighed. "Master Splinter, I couldn't risk him goin' off on his own an' gettin' hurt."

"I understand my son." Splinter finally said, putting a hand on Raphael's shoulder. "You were just helping a friend, I find that very honorable."

"You do?" Raph asked, surprised.

"Yes," Splinter began slowly.

Raphael grimaced a little preparing for the _"but..."_.

Splinter continued, "But you should have alerted the rest of us and not endangered yourself and Casey further."

Raph sighed. _I knew **that **was comin'. _He stepped into the lab, watching Splinter walk away as April made Casey lay down on the bed.

Casey obediently laid back as April instructed, fearing that if he upset her any further she just might try to kill him herself. "I hadda do somethin' April," he began explaining softly. "They told the cops it was me who robbed that bank. They were the witnesses." he grimaced a little as she lifted his shirt and began gently prodding his ribs.

April was glad that the bandages from his broken ribs were still there from before, offering a _little _protection from any blows he may have received. She carefully put more pressure on his ribcage and Casey hissed in pain.

"That's not where I was kicked." he told her, grimacing again. He brought up a hand and lightly tapped at his right side. "Here," he said. "I'm okay."

Smiling a little April pulled his shirt back down. "You're lucky you were hit on the opposite side than where your ribs were broken. They've already started healing, it's a good thing you didn't re-break them." she shook her head, frowning a little as she realized something when he sat up. "Wait, these guys framed you for the robbery, and _that's _why the cops are after you?"

Casey glanced at Raphael a second before looking back at April. He raised an eyebrow. "Yeh, didn't I tell you?"

April rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "No."

"Oh," Casey smiled a little sheepishly, then shrugged. "Well...I meant to."

Sighing, April turned to the turtle standing in the lab's doorway. "Did you know about this?"

"Nope," Raphael shook his head. "I jus' found out when those thugs started goin' at 'im an' said it."

Leonardo soon walked into the lab, hiding his tired yawn as he was just woken up. "I heard what happened," he said as he approached the trio. "Splinter told Mikey and Don too, but Mikey just went back to bed and Donnie said he wasn't going to lecture Casey anymore if he didn't listen anyway." he smiled a little and shrugged, then his expression turned serious as he looked at Casey. "You should probably lay low for awhile. Atleast until the police catch the goons that really pulled the robbery. Don told me that he did some digging through the police files and found out that they sent in a team to check everything out because the witnesses that fixed you as the robber were acting very suspiciously. Those witnessing being the actual robbers themselves."

Casey nodded and stood up. "Yeh, I was plannin' on headin' out of here anyways."

"You were?" Raphael asked, staring at him skeptically.

"Yeh," Casey partially shrugged. "After what happened jus' now, I could use some down time an' stuff before I beat down those Purple Dragon punks again. They're probably still gonna be after me."

"Oh," Raph smirked and crossed his arms. "So you really jus' wanna lay low so you can be back to a hundred percent an' kick some butt." he laughed a little.

"So?"

"Where are you gonna go?" Leonardo asked, interrupting.

"My grandmother's old farmhouse. It's a good place for some time away from the city if I needta stay outta sight, as you guys already know." Casey nodded, then picked his bag of sports weapons off the floor and slung it over his shoulder.

As he started to walk away, April ran up to him and grabbed hold of his arm. "Wait," she said, getting Casey to stop and turn to her so that his bright blue eyes met her green ones. "I'm coming with you." she said, not taking _no _for an answer. "You could use someone around to look after you."

Casey gave a crooked smile, then shrugged and looked off to the side like it was no big deal. "Okay babe, let's get goin'. We takin' your ride?"

"Sure," April said, glancing back at Leonardo and Raphael with a wave. Then she turned back to Casey and began walking alongside him as they left the lair. "Just as long as you stop calling me _'babe'_." she told him with a wry smile.

Casey just grinned, then raised a hand in a backwards wave. "See ya 'round guys."

Leonardo turned to his brother as the two walked away. "Um, is that such a good idea?"

Raph smirked and nudged Leo. "Ah, I give it a week before she's ready to kill 'im."

"Yeh," Leo nodded. "Maybe we should check up on them in a few days."

"Good idea."

- - - - -**The End**- - - - -

**Note: **That's it, hope you guys liked it! Thanks for all the reviews. Oh, and don't worry 'cuz hopefully I'm gonna get started on a sequel. I've promised some sequels for other fics I've written, but hopefully if I start on this one right away an' go with the flow I won't lose my momentum and I can get it out soon. _::crosses fingers:: _I also want to get into the Casey/April relationship more in the sequel. _::grins:: _They're so good together!


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